Santa brought Noah a beater!!!

Hi all

Looks like Santa dropped a new (ha, I mean ho ho) toy in the garage this x-mas, only it's not for me!!!
Actually purchased this beater from a friend, girl at work for my 15 1/2 son. Seems her ole man won't let her ride it anymore, dick whipped :laugh:
She's no looker and needs a good amount of work, but Noah is psyched and actually looks forward to helping me work on her. We've already made plans, his favorite color is orangE and he's an artist.

So we're gonna paint the black part of the wheels and the engine side covers Chevy orange. Biltwell kung fu orange grips
Clean up the chrome clubmans.
Paint the tank and body side covers white so he can go to town with a black sharpie and draw pieces of anime art on the white canvases.
Draw a Samurai protection spell down the center of the chrome front fender in Japenese.
Find the correct seat shape it and cover it in orange and black.
And replace the missing or incorrect model parts: tach, seat, front turn signals, etc.

She's been sitting outside for 18 months, I did get her fired and around the block once but she runs and sounds like crap. Valves rattle, tranny knocks, carbs definately need a good rebuild, fluid etc.
Look forward to working on POS (Sorry haven't named her yet, just seems fitting)and chronicling her rebirth here. Hmm maybe Phoenix??? NO FIRE BAD!!!

And ohhh do I have ????????'s

Peace

Jeff

Love it man! Awesome thing to do for your son. You would be like one of my friend's cool Dads in the neighborhood when I was growing up . Love the idea to turn it into a canvas for him to use his art. Looking forward to seeing your build thread.

Welcome,Have fun. Roy

those a really great bikes and tough as nails if you change the oil.....fast enough to be a real bike...and light enough to be tons of fun.....

Welcome aboard, good luck with the build.

Making progress even though poor (Noah) monkey thinks otherwise...




Can of engine clean and the old gas out of the tank cleaned her up a bit. Some brillo pads on the wheels and it'S amazing what tinfoil does to rusty chrome, poof gone.

Monkey drew "Guardian Angel" in Japanese with sharpie on the front fender. Came out OK but he's painting it on now the way the Japanese do, caligraphy. Going to have to be patient when I clear coat it in the cold, I don't want it to run.



Gonna pull the wheels and covers this week and paint them orange.

Not looking forward to pulling the carbs, no extra money to really throw at her for manifolds and rubber air cleaner bushings. It can add up on top of the rebuild kit.

Clunking seems to be coming from the clutch cover gonna try tightening her up and see if that helps.

Anyone know if my son's 82 KZ550C3??? LTD has an adjustable valvetrain or will I have to pull cams (argh) and add shims??? Glanced through the manual but have a large checklist to keep track of any help appreciated.

Tomorrow, replace missing screws and bolts and straighten the clubmans on the press.
Just wish it was a lil warmer in the garage so my back wouldn't stiffen up. Guess I should count myself lucky I don't live in the east!!!

All of the 550's use shim-under-bucket. If it still has the original shims, they will be in the 250 to 260 range. Z1Enterprises shells shims reasonably priced. A shim kit is not recommended since you won't be able to use most of them, and there won't be enough of the ones you need.

The manual has a pretty good chart for knowing what shims to use.

There is a valve train warning in my signature that you should read because it is not obvious on the motor, but installing the valve cover while the timing chain is tight, can do damage.

Also, in my signature are a couple of downloadable manuals that you can use to print pages out while working so you don't have to keep flipping through pages of the manual etc.

There is also a site dedicated to the TK-22 carbs, for when the time comes for you to start playing with them.

Good luck on the resto!

Welcome aboard Jeff and Noah.
Looking forward to your project.
Also have a few on the go here with my boys.

You should replace the Rr brake shoes, if their age is unknown. The lining can separate from the shoe, get jammed between the shoe & drum, locking the rear wheel.